VA - The FAME Studios Story 1961-73 / GEORGE JACKSON - Don't Count Me Out: The FAME Recordings Vol. 1

Ace/Kent's sequel of sorts to 2008's Take Me To The River: A Southern Soul Story 3CD set, The FAME Studios Story hones in on Muscle Shoals' golden era, while Don't Count Me Out further focuses on George Jackson's peak years at the studio, from 1968 to 1972.

"The FAME Studios Story 1961-1973 is an exhaustive 3CD set derived from two years’ worth of excavations by the intrepid Ace team at the hallowed FAME vault. The result is a full programme of FAME-related releases slated for issue on Ace, Kent, and BGP over the next couple of years, but the lynchpin is this definitive anthology that focuses upon the halcyon days of the studio and the label. It’s an open-minded, celebratory overview that, across 75 tracks, spotlights both artists and records that are either acknowledged greats, or lesser known – yet no less worthy – entries in the lexicon of soul." - Ace Records

"Rick Hall, who owned FAME, knew that if a top soul artist was coming into the studio and some songs were needed, then George Jackson was the man. He was valued so much as a songwriter that his career as a singer was sadly neglected, and only two 45s were issued during his long association with FAME. Luckily for us, Rick Hall held on to a truckload of the other recordings George cut at FAME which have remained in the vaults until Tony Rounce, Dean Rudland and Alec Palao plucked them from the shelves for this terrific release and several future volumes." - Ace Records

THE BATS - Free All The Monsters

Fans of seminal jangle-pop band The Clean were spoiled rotten in 2011 with excellent records from founding members David Kilgour (Left By Soft) and Robert Scott (Ends Run Together). Now there's even more to be thankful for with the appearance of an album by Robert Scott's other band The Bats, it may be the best of the bunch.

"The Bats are back to remind us how sweet, lovely and connective pop songs can be. Titled Free All The Monsters, the band’s eighth album shows them in top form. Recorded at Seacliff, a former asylum in the grand Victorian style just outside of Dunedin, New Zealand, and masterfully produced by Dale Cotton, it captures some of their strongest songs to date." - Flying Nun

"In their 30 years as a band, The Bats have made only eight full-length records. There are years, even occasional decades, between the band’s statements, gaps that reflect other musical obligations (Robert Scott is in a half-dozen other projects, including The Clean), work, children and family life. Free All The Monsters comes only three years after The Guilty Office, a relatively short span in Bats terms. (It was 10  years between Couchmaster and National Grid.) It sounds very much like The Guilty Office, and, in fact, very much like The Bats have always sounded—a jangle and clatter subdued somehow into melancholy introspection." - Dusted

CASS McCOMBS - Humor Risk

April 2011's Wit's End may have edged out this even more recent entry from Cass McCombs as far as inclusion in our Staff Best of 2011 list went, but it could be argued that with an added pep and immediacy to its riffs leavening his oft-odd lyricism this time around (nevermind that there are riffs to be found on this more-rock-than-folk outing), Humor Risk could be the more approachable album of the pair.

"McCombs must be given credit for his ability to surprise; Humor Risk, his sixth album, comes only seven months after Wit’s End and could not possibly be more different despite sharing producer Ariel Rechtshaid and a handful of collaborators. In fact, it’s practically Wit's End's inverse; it offers the same number of songs, yet trades its predecessor’s icy austerity for warmth and motion, making it a welcome surprise from a musician who proves himself less and less predictable with every record." - Coke Machine Glow

"It’s very evident that Wit's End and Humor Risk have two different feels. Although Wit's End is more cohesive atmospherically and production-wise, Humor Risk is the better representation of McCombs as a songwriter in the 'classic' realm. His folk-rock approach never sounds stale, and when it does, it’s always due to strategic repetition." - Obscure Sound

KIM JUNG MI - Now

When Light In The Attic compiled Beautiful Rivers And Mountains this past fall, an anthology of tracks led by/produced by/featuring Shin Joong Hyun, many of us on staff here were especially struck by "The Sun," a track featuring the vocals of psych-folk songbird Kim Jung Mi; we're glad to now have the chance to listen to this reissue of Now, Mi's 1973 full-length effort produced by Shin.

"At the dawn of the 1970s, South Korea’s rock music scene was at its zenith. Much of the reason for this was the god-like musical touch of guitar wizard, songwriter, producer, and arranger Shin Joong Hyun. For this album, he took a young girl named Kim Jung Mi, and transformed her from a wallflower student into a folk-psych chanteuse in record time (if Francoise Hardy is the Marianne Faithful of France, then Kim Jung Mi is, I suppose, the Francoise Hardy of Korea)." - Light In The Attic

"Kim Jung Mi's Now is probably one of the oddest albums I've ever heard. That's not because Now sounds especially exotic, though. On the contrary, it's because it doesn't. The point isn't that the album is derivative. It's that it's familiar. When I listen to 'Lonely Heart,' for example, I feel like I'm hearing something for the thousandth time, even though I can't exactly put my finger on where. It's too psych for Sandy Denny, not bluesy enough to be Janis Joplin, not smoky enough for the pop cabaret of Julie London, not over-carbonated enough to be Serge Gainsbourg—but it's somewhere in a world where all those things are on the jukebox." - Splice Today

GUIDED BY VOICES - Let's Go Eat The Factory

Try as we might to deny it, none of us is immune to the powers of sentimentality. For a good handful of us (this writer included), this knee-jerk response simply can't be overlooked in the curiosity about this record.

Do I even need to go into the reasons why? If you're on this site, probably not but just to be safe... Let's Go Eat The Factory represents the first album by the 'classic' line-up of Guided By Voices since 1996's exceptional (and, in my opinion, career best) album Under the Bushes, Under the Stars. While GBV (led by the human songwriting vending machine that is Bob Pollard) would go on to record many more albums with different personnel, it was the line-up of Pollard, Tobin Sprout, Mitch Mitchell, Kevin Fennel and Greg Demos that turned indie rock on its ear in the mid-'90s.

The magic of this equation centred around two key elements: spartan, hissy home recording, and an uncanny ability to unleash literally dozens of exceptional pop hooks through songs that lasted only as long as it took to express them. For example, 1995's Alien Lanes contains a mind-bending 28 songs in only 41 minutes. And unlike hardcore albums with a similar work rate, this trait had nothing to do with either speed or a blurring sameness of the material—these records were wildly unpredictable, leaping from muscular arena rock to mini-prog suites to surreal psych and anywhere else they fancied. Though the group spawned a legion of imitators, they were quite unlike any other band.

So it's not surprising that even though Pollard had never stopped releasing albums since GBV's official end in 2004 (and at the rate of about four a year!), many of us who had left the group behind are emotionally drawn back to the band by this news. And Let's Go Eat The Factory does replicate some of their fabled magic, in that it at least sounds the part. After Bushes saw the career basement-dwellers begin to embrace the professional studio, the band grew increasingly distanced from their trademark lo-fi style. Although Pollard has been all over it in his solo releases since, it's a real jolt just to hear how scrappy Factory sounds. This low production value works hand-in-hand with the charmingly less-than-tight performances to create an atmosphere that truly is reminiscent of classic GBV. Loose, impulsive, messy...love it.

Where it's not quite up to snuff is in the songs themselves. As unorthodox as both '94's breakthrough Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes were, they were also relentless in their presentation of hit after hit after sun-warped hit. In this respect, Factory has more in common with the records that led up to that breakout pair, Vampire On Titus and Propeller—good records, but ones with more than their fair share of filler. So while "The Unsinkable Fats Domino," "Imperial Horseracing," "Laundry and Lasers" and "Hang Mr. Kite" are all pretty great, many others sound like these newly reformed gents are still struggling to find that magic balance between spontaneity and quality control (the latter admittedly never a GBV strong suit, even at their peak).

If there's one truly magical thing about Factory though, it's the return of Tobin Sprout. Just hearing his voice again on a GBV record is cause for celebration—his gentle boyish tenor always an appealingly contemplative foil to Pollard's brazen, cocky obfuscation. His contributions, like "Spiderfighter," "Old Bones" and "Waves" are some of the LP's best, and put into sharp relief just how much he's been missed by the band (and Pollard) over the past fifteen years.

With another disc apparently already recorded and ready to go in May, it seems like this reunion may be a bit more than a passing fancy. If that's the case, I wouldn't bet against Factory being the harbinger of even better things to come. In other words, Bee Thousand II this is not, but hey, it's only January...

OXFORD AMERICAN - 13th Annual Southern Music Issue

Whether the holiday season takes you out of town or lets you do your running around at home this year, Oxford American's music issue is a trustworthy travel companion, stuffed with approachably academic takes on the artists and cultures of the Southern states by a star-studded cast of critics (focusing this year on the Magnolia state, Mississippi). A must-read and a fantastic gift idea, complete with an equally informative and entertaining 27-track companion CD compilation.

VA - Eccentric Soul: The Nickel and Penny Labels

It's been two and a half years since the last volume in Numero's Eccentric Soul series (Smart's Palace) was released; getting to now hear such stellar cuts as Little Ben & The Cheers' "I'm Not Ready To Settle Down" and Jerry Townes' "Three Sides To A Triangle," though, has made The Nickel and Penny Labels well worth the wait.

"Chicago’s Richard Pegue was one of the most intriguing figures to come out of the Chicago soul scene in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Raised during the city’s fertile Doo-wop era, Pegue immersed himself in music immediately. He cut his chops as a mobile dj, record store clerk and recording artist before stepping into the booth as one of Chicago’s most enduring radio personalities to grace the city’s airwaves. The Nickel and Penny labels featured in this compilation are twin sides of the same eccentric coin, Pegue himself. He was the writer, arranger and producer of some of the most beautiful Chicago soul records in the ’60s and ’70s; too bad they all went out of print weeks after being released." - Numero Group

"Little Ben & The Cheers’ “I’m Gonna Get Even With You” is hummable as hell, but spikes its classic Motown punch with a shot of ego-wounded nastiness, and the vigorous pulse and righteous back and forth singing on South Shore Commission’s “Shadows” are just two of a half-dozen earworms that the song will lodge in your brain." - Dusted

VA - Big Band Present: Italo Funk Experience

Another excellent entry in Nascente's Experience series. Bene!

"Italian Funk Experience features lost soundtrack gems from cult soundtrack composers such as Piero Piccioni & Piero Umiliani, modal-jazz classics from Lee Konitz & Giovanni Tommaso, twisted Italian funk from the likes of Tony Esposito and super-rare pieces from the cult Italian library music label Rotary, many composed by Italian jazz-legend Amedeo Tommasi.

Big Bang is the production name of Simone Serritella, head honcho of the Italo-jazz re-release label Arision, and under his production name Big Bang, a celebrated jazz-dance producer and favourite of Gilles Peterson." - Demon Music Group

VA - Dynamic Grooves: Funk and Groovy Soul From the Vaults of Scepter, Wand, Dynamo and Musicor

Complementing/supplementing Kent's Manhattan Soul comp from earlier this year, the ACE family of reissue labels (this time around, BGP) unearths yet more late-'60s/early-'70s NY soul.

In 1960s New York, both the Scepter/Wand and Musicor/Dynamo groups of labels were at the peak of the independent label scene. They had hit artists from across the musical spectrum, but with a very strong foot in the world of soul. By the late '60s, as that world was starting to be strongly influenced by funk, they were in a position as established players in the industry to sign up recordings from all around the United States. Dynamic Grooves focuses on the labels’ output, providing a snapshot of the scene in which they worked at this time. - Ace Records

VA - This May Be My Last Time Singing: Raw African-American Gospel On 45RPM 1957-1982

Yeti publisher Mike McGonigal's previous gospel compilation curated for Tompkins Square, the mighty triple-disc Fire In My Bones: Raw + Rare + Otherworldly African-American Gospel 1944-2007, wowed us the moment it came into our shop almost exactly two years ago; This May Be My Last Time Singing is of an equally impressive girth, value and calibre.

"Get ready for fiery sanctified soul, heavy Pentecostal jams, drum machine gospel, slow-burning moaners, glorified guitar sermons and righteously ragged a cappella hymns! The music on this compilation was originally released on small label 45s, mostly in the 1960s and '70s. At least one-third of the records were self-released, paid for by a church congregation or the artists themselves. Others were on regional labels (typically run by one single producer) little known today outside of a small circle of collectors. This vibrant music is incredibly honest and almost criminally unknown." - Tompkins Square

MARINE DREAMS - Marine Dreams

Though Attack in Black are no more, its former members have carried on, producing a total of 2 EPs and 4 LPs since that band's demise in 2010. The latest of the bunch is AIB bassist Ian Kehoe's excellent debut as Marine Dreams.

"Nothing flashy, just 10 concise, crisply tuneful jams that go exactly where they should in subtly ingenious ways, shot through with a keen sense of wit and an audible appreciation for classic songcraft. Some pretty hot guitar playing, too. You’ll think fondly of Big Star, Guided by Voices, the Buzzcocks, the Who and Tom Petty hangin’ with Jeff Lynne while it’s playing and feel very good indeed about hitting “repeat” when the half-hour is up." - Toronto Star

"It’s the kind of record you can easily listen to over and over again and again; a true record from start to finish.  It’s something that he and his fellow AiB buddies seem to understand intrinsically.  Each of their solo efforts during their current hiatus, as well as their last Attack In Black full length, are documents made to be digested as a whole." - Quick Before It Melts

"Marine Dreams is everything I love about guitar music. Kehoe’s ability to find melody from the most inauspicious chords and captivate me with premature endings and new beginnings is a lost skill." - Herohill

DILLARD & CLARK - The Fantastic Expeditions Of Dillard & Clark / GENE CLARK - White Light / GENE CLARK - Roadmaster

Sundazed just reissued three albums Gene Clark released between 1968-1972, including his acclaimed collaboration with Doug Dillard. You can't go wrong with any of them!

"Gene Clark was front and center as tambourine player, singer and principal songwriter for the Byrds, but in early 1966 he flew the coop. A gifted songwriter, expectations ran high for a stellar solo career, but those hopes were dashed when his debut solo album and single both failed to chart. Dropped by Columbia Records the following year, Gene's career remained in limbo until teaming up with banjo player extraordinaire Doug Dillard for The Fantastic Expeditions Of Dillard & Clark."

"Tiring of the Hollywood fast lane by 1969, Gene and new wife Carlie moved up to Mendocino on the Northern California coast. It inspired a body of songs unlike anything Gene had composed before. Their stark simplicity and stripped down arrangements—acoustic guitar, harmonica and voice—evidence a deeper insight into life and an overall optimism rarely found in his previous body of work. The resulting album, White Light, produced by renowned guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, remains one of Gene's most accessible and much-loved recordings among fans and critics."

"By 1972, Clark had settled into a new life far from the adulation that still surrounded someone of his stature as a former member of the Byrds. However, he still owed A&M Records one more album. Gathering together the cream of the L.A. country-rock fraternity—innovative guitarist Clarence White, Chris Ethridge on bass, ex-Byrd and Burrito Brother Michael Clarke on drums, pedal steel guitarist extraordinaire Sneaky Pete, Byron Berline on fiddle and pianist Spooner Oldham—Gene set about recording an album of pure country rock unfettered by any commercial dictates." - Sundazed

ATLAS SOUND - Parallax

Pop music: there ain't much to it. And that's often what is most enticing about it, for listeners and musicians alike. The former gets instant access to an enjoyable experience (usually, anyway). And musicians? Well, they get an immediate template to follow...or mess with.

Some of the best indie music—not just recently, but for decades, really—has been made by musicians in this spirit. A simultaneous worship and subversion of pop music's most basic blueprints. Surf rock. Folk music. Wall-of-sound pop. Rockabilly. Any of these configurations can be manipulated and skewed endlessly until even the most basic two-chord song can be turned into a fresh experience.

It was the stock trade of bands like Pavement and Guided By Voices, groups who used feedback, collage, loose musicianship, lyrical non-sequiturs, and intentionally bruised recording techniques to add new dimensions to songs that often would've been at home on albums released decades prior. And it's essentially what makes Atlas Sound so appealing. 

Whether under this solo moniker or in the group he leads, Deerhunter, Bradford Cox is about as revered as a musician can get without nudging himself into the mainstream consciousness. Parallax continues his absolutely dizzying pace of releasing songs (something he also shares with indie greats like GBV's indefatigable Bob Pollard)—but what's most baffling about it is how high a standard he's been able to maintain as of late.

In part, he can thank the digital revolution for this not coming across as overkill. Where previous eras' overproductive artists (like Lou Barlow or Pollard) would flood the market with an endless stream of singles, EPs, and demo albums on tiny indie labels, today one can choose to release one's 'lesser' music quietly via free downloads (as Cox did last year on his intriguing four-part Bedroom Databank collection). The result? A goldmine for obsessive geeks that still allows something like Parallax to be counted as only your third album—as well as letting you appear prolific, yet not overly vain about foisting your product upon the world. (That said, one of Parallax's best tracks is a reworking of "Mona Lisa", the opener on Bedroom Databank's third volume.)

As for Cox's terrific track record of late, let's just say that this lovely album does nothing to diminish it, even if it does lack the highlights of his past album, Logos. Where that record found him paired with Panda Bear ("Walkabout") and Laetitia Sadier ("Quick Canal") to produce quantum leaps in Atlas Sound's music, Parallax is more consistent in mood and finds him completely at ease with his abilities and instincts. It's a tremendously relaxed album, but it never sounds lazy or unfocused. Whether presenting dreamily-framed looped odes ("Te Amo") or in-the-back-pocket shimmies ("Nightworks"), he's always on target. Whether with giants of pop music's past or his own persona and style, Cox's intelligent manipulation of the ideas at hand continues to make for a great listen.

VA - Midnight At The Barrelhouse: The Johnny Otis Story, Volume 1 (1945-57)

We can't stop playing this in the shop—with the wide variety of '40s/'50s styles covered (from R&B to jump blues to fuller, big-band arrangements) and such standout tracks as "The Turkey Hop", "Oopy-Doo" and "Hound Dog", customers' ears pretty much always perk up, and we're invariably asked what we've thrown on. A real grabs-you-from-the-get-go crowdpleaser from an orchestral revue that clearly put on one heck of a show.

"Although universally recognized as an important figure in mid-20th century rhythm & blues, Johnny Otis did not make the most consistent records, whether he was the featured artist/singer or involved in more of a production capacity. This first volume of a two-part career overview compiles some of the more significant entries in his discography (a massive one if you count his productions)." - Allmusic

"The spectacular career of Johnny Otis was a microcosm of the entire Los Angeles postwar R&B and subsequent rock ‘n’ roll scene. He wore every hat imaginable during those rollicking years: bandleader, musician (drummer, vibist, and pianist), dynamic singer, prolific songwriter, hitmaking producer, label owner (Dig Records), deejay, and TV host, excelling at all[...] Ace’s 25-song overview of Otis’ dauntingly voluminous early catalog does a splendid job of examining the first dozen years of Johnny’s recording career, its songlist spanning no less than eight labels." - Blues Revue

VAN DYKE PARKS - Arrangements, Vol. 1

A man who started his parallel careers as arranger, producer, lyricist, songwriter and A/V/A&R rep at an astonishingly early age, Van Dyke Parks is a musician's musician thoroughly deserving of canonization by way of this long-awaited, self-released anthology (with more volumes hopefully to come).

"Van Dyke Parks helped Brian Wilson write the songs for SMiLE and recorded a handful of fine and critically acclaimed albums in the 1960s and '70s, but he earned his bread and butter as a producer and arranger, creating striking musical backdrops for other artists. Arrangements, Vol. 1 is a collection compiled by Parks himself that features 15 tracks he arranged; five were released under Parks' moniker, but the rest found him working for the likes of Ry Cooder, Bonnie Raitt, Arlo Guthrie, and Sal Valentino during his tenure as a staff producer at Warner Bros. Records." - Allmusic

"His solo records, starting with 1968's confounding Harry Nilsson-meets-Charles Ives opus Song Cycle, are subjects of fervent cult adoration but known to few. His arranging work, meanwhile, has put an inimitable stamp on American pop, though the vast majority of music fans have no idea when they are listening to his work. He is the quintessential liner-notes hero, in other words, which makes the overview of Arrangements, Vol. 1, on his own label Bananastan, that much more gratifying." - Pitchfork (Best New Reissue)

THE BEACH BOYS - SMiLE

First recorded in 1966-67, The Beach Boys' SMiLE is regarded as one of the greatest "lost albums" of all time. Different bootleg versions have been floating around for years, and many of the songs were remade for later Beach Boys albums. Heck, Brian Wilson even revisited the album in 2004, recording a brand new version with his band at the time, The Wondermints. However, this is the first time the original, as-complete-as-possible version of SMiLE gets an official release, and it's a doozy. Using Wilson's 2004 sequence as a guide, the album feels pretty dang near complete, with all the pieces falling nicely into place. It's exhilarating to finally hear, and it will surely put a smile on your face. Available as a 2CD, 2LP, or deluxe box set, with tons of extras, alternate versions, outtakes, etc. Dig in!

"If it ultimately sounds like nothing else, it still variously touches on doo-wop, barbershop singing, ragtime, the mock-Polynesian Tiki culture that swept Hollywood in the '50s, pre-rock'n'roll crooning, yodelling, cowboy movies, and 'You Are My Sunshine'." - The Guardian

"It’s easy to lose yourself in the countless studio takes. Little gasps of pure genius here and there. The slow dissolution to it all. The echoes of things to come. It’s a history lesson come to life, and that’s part of the reason the collection here works so well." - Consequence of Sound

VA - MGMT LateNightTales

The latest in LateNightTales' DJ mix series finds MGMT currating a mix of downbeat tracks expertly sequenced to be be the perfect soundtrack to your very own late night tale. Includes an exclusive cover of the Bauhaus song "All We Ever Wanted Was Everything" performed by MGMT.

"With choices from the some-of-these-people-may-be-on-something area of pop history, there’s the likes of The Chills, Television Personalities and Disco Inferno nestling alongside The Velvet Underground’s 'Ocean' and a cut from Felt’s full-on Cocteau Twins phase, Red Indians. Martin Rev and Suicide crop up with the menace-haemorrhaging 'Cheree' and slightly more upbeat 'Sparks', while Julian Cope’s 'Laughing Boy', from his own disowning-pop-era masterpiece Fried, is a welcome selection." - BBC Music

"The Late Night Tales albums usually consist of their fair share of older tracks but this is even more so the case here, with tracks from The Velvet Underground, Suicide, Julian Cope and the Durutti Column amongst others. The mixture of tracks is, however, pretty spectacular. The album opens on Disco Inferno's ghostly and lost sounding 'Can't See Through It' - a track by a band I had not heard before but that perfectly kicks off this floaty, folky mix." - Black Plastic

MGMT Late Night Tales Minimix by LateNightTales

SANDRO PERRI - Impossible Spaces

So, we really like Sandro Perri around these parts.

His last full length, Tiny Mirrors, was our shop's fave record of 2007. And though it's not here on our website for reference, I believe the previous year's top record was the self-titled effort by Glissandro 70, a side project of Perri's alongside one Craig Dunsmuir...who kinda, sorta, umm...works here at Soundscapes.

If you still believe by this point that we're capable of any objectivity at all, then I would like to say this: not only do I predict that our 2011 staff poll will find Perri's latest once again on top of our year-end list, but I think he absolutely deserves the accolade...and should get the same praise elsewhere. That's because Impossible Spaces is more than just the best thing this local uber-talent has done (whether under his own name or his also-exceptional aquatic ambient guise, Polmo Polpo). It's an album that stacks up beautifully against anything released this year. It is, as a colleague of mine opined earlier, "a game changer."

But first, a little word about nepotism. No one likes it, am I right? Except that whether you're a CEO or a convenience store clerk, I'd wager we're all guilty of it at some point. Because whether it's landing someone a cushy new job or a jumbo Squishee for the price of a small, who doesn't love the feeling that comes with abusing power to favour one's friends? It's kind of innate—true objectivity just doesn't happen to be something we humans do all that well.

But, there's also a check against that kind of apparently unbridled favouritism. The truth is, that feeling of wanting to be the one to draw attention to our overlooked peers—to be deemed forward-thinking tastemakers and benevolent benefactors of a local scene—that good feeling is a transient one. It rapes and pillages and plunders and then quickly moves on. That's why so many artists (especially local ones) are built up and torn down so quickly. It's not about loving them, it's about loving the feeling that being the first to tell others about them brings us.

Familiarity and community alone does not breed loyalty. Loyalty requires more. In music, it ultimately asks that the local artist is capable of moving us in the same lasting and surprising ways that any other musician or group does. And that is what Sandro delivers to us, his very appreciative fans. He's one of a kind, baby.

Without a eye to any trend, Perri has very quietly amassed a discography of very human music. It makes sense that the first Polmo Polpo full-length was called The Science of Breath. Despite many changes in approach, his music has remained organic and instinctive in its movements. Like a creature growing and evolving before us, each new record has found ways to absorb and adjust past lessons into new patterns and expressions, each set both more efficient and more complex that what preceded it.

Consequently, Impossible Spaces is the greatest example yet of this career evolution. At seven songs, it is brief. And yet with several tracks reaching over seven minutes, nothing about the record is linear or overly direct. It contains immediate hooks (like the killer guitar bends of "Wolfman" or the gentle title mantra of "Changes"), but also is full of arrangements so subtly nuanced that they continue to be mysterious after dozens of listens. Perhaps most importantly, despite any number of touchstones (from Arthur Russell and The Sea and Cake to Van Morrison and Brian Eno), it sounds like absolutely no one else. Sure, if you're looking for it, you'll hear funk, blue-eyed soul, ambient soundscapes, folk-jazz, electronic, and psych-pop all cozying up together. But if you really listen, you'll hear an absurdly smart and humble musician following his own cues without shame or pride. And then you'll realize just how rare an experience that is.

Sandro Perri may come into our shop sometimes, and that's certainly endearing to us. But the reason we really love him—and why we'll continue to love him even if Impossible Spaces gets feted above and beyond our wildest hopes—is because he's the bloody best at what he does. He's the only guy who does what he does. And if you've ever needed a reason to check him out, it's this: this album is listen-to-it-for-the-rest-of-your-life good; it's Astral Weeks good.

And yes, we're biased. But for once, it doesn't matter.

ROLL THE DICE - In Dust

from Soundscapes <info@soundscapesmusic.com>
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date Fri. Oct 14 2011 at 10:45 AM
subject Re: **** *** **** - ** ****
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Also, while I think to mention it, if you're up for listening to a new synth + piano release that I just really got into and think you might also like, this Swedish duo Roll The Dice has a new album called In Dust on the Leaf label that takes that whole kosmische/Cluster/early Kraftwerk/electronic krautrock/John Carpenter set of influences that has been the zeitgeist for a little while now and does something really refined with it (think Vladislav Delay, Moritz von Oswald or that Mokira record I was raving about a couple years back)—the production's really rich and flattering on this, the sequencing is solid, and to me it sounds bummed but blissed out at the same time.
 
Check it out if you've got a free hour (or less, of course, if it doesn't end up being your bag!) at some point:
http://www.self-titledmag.com/home/2011/09/05/free-association-stream-roll-the-dices-in-dust-album-and-read-their-track-by-track-commentary/

FEIST - Metals

You knew this was coming. It was there the moment that Leslie Feist embraced the game-changing success of Grammy nods and iPod commercials with an arena show driven not by slick light shows or in-the-round extravagance, but by shadow puppets. And with Metals (her third or fourth record, depending on whether or not you choose to count the seemingly happily deleted Monarch), she confirms it: Feist has no interest in selling herself. 

At least not for cheap. 

The trick in understanding this stance, however, is to not misinterpret this as some cold, bitter misanthropic stunt. Having attended her triumphant ACC stand near the end of her touring cycle for The Reminder, what was most impressive was how she managed to stage a show for 10,000 people in a hockey arena that was so fragile, intimate, whimsical, spontaneous, and touching. It wasn't a middle finger to impending stardom, but rather a successful attempt to rewrite the laws on how such a crowd could be embraced.

Metals sets its sights just as high. Tentative and somewhat effete at first glance, it comes to brim effusively with confidence, spirit and humanity as one better makes its acquaintance. Lots has been said about the shouts that punctuate "A Commotion" or the triumphant final chorus of "Graveyard", two moments that stand out readily. But like the titular location of that latter track, there's lots more interesting stuff buried throughout Metals. 

Like the woozily drawn-out phrasing and swooning string arrangement in "Anti-Pioneer". And the juicy blues thud of "Undiscovered First". Or the way her levitating vocal in "The Circle Married The Line" sneaks up on your ears when you're not looking. And the tiny joys one finds spending time with "Cicadas and Gulls". Gradually, these moments (and many, many more) add up to become a greater confirmation of her talent than anyone single could aim to be. 

In the past, I liked to lazily call Feist a 'phone book singer' (as in she could easily sing the contents of said book and it would be quite enjoyable). I've always thought of it as a compliment, but Metals' greatest strength is how it takes such a silly, off-the-cuff statement to task. That's because far more than the simple pleasure of 'the voice', this record works on the back of eloquent writing, thoughtful arrangements, and patient respect for its listener. Will it take? Feist never intended to sing in the hopes of helping to sell millions of MP3 players. But what's done is done. The way she's carried herself in the wake of this—with an album that is both absolutely on her own terms and still full of moments that embrace an audience—is what makes both her and Metals great.